The Loss of A Friend
by hiveluver
Summary: Nero studies the reactions of others while attending a funeral of a close friend and trusted ally.


**A/N: Well guys, it seems that H.I.V.E is over, with the ninth book not coming until 2019. Most likely, it won't come out at all. It's too bad. I feel as though the series has so much more in it, and so much more it could offer. I'm going to try and get back into fanfiction, and maybe continue some of my old, unfinished fanfiction, and write some new ones, seeing as fanfiction is all we'll get out of H.I.V.E unless Mark Walden begins to write again. Anyways, this is a short fic about Otto's funeral. I don't know, it kinda just came to my mind. It's just a short one to get back into the feel of writing the H.I.V.E characters. Enjoy, and please review!**

Dr. Nero looked at the still, cold body of his former student, Otto Malpense. Losing a student was never easy, but losing Otto was... unthinkable.

Otto was more than a student. He was a warrior, a brave, courageous young man, who became more like a friend to Nero than anything else.

Nero had dealt with loss before. It was part of his job. But this... this was different.

Which was part of the reason that Nero insisted on having a funeral for this particular student.

The group stood in the sand on the island surrounding the volcano. A select group of people were attending this service... Raven, Shelby Trinity, Laura Brand, Wing Fanchu, Franz Argentblum, Nigel Darkdoom, Diabolus Darkdoom, Professor Pike, Colonel Francisco, and Ms. Leon.

Nero looked around to study the faces of everyone else in attendance.

Raven looked visibly upset, something rare for her. She had trusted Otto with her life, and had given everything to save him in the end. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Nero knew that Raven would blame herself for his death, when in all reality, there was nothing she could've done to prevent it from happening. Nero worried for Raven; he cared for her deeply. He didn't want her to carry this sadness around on her shoulders for years to come. He made a mental note to speak with her in a few months time, when it was more appropriate.

Next, he looked at Franz and Nigel. While they weren't necessarily Otto's best friends, he knew they cared for each other deeply. Nero remembers, with a bittersweet feeling, when Franz would bring piles of snacks to Otto's hospital bed after he returned from Brazil, and how Nigel trusted Otto to see his creation of the plant Violet. He knew Nigel and Franz would miss their friend deerly.

He next turned his attention to Laura Brand. Nero had taught for a long time, and if there was one thing he learned how to spot in all this time, it was teen love. He could name every single couple in the entire school. It was no mystery to him. While he didn't necessarily like the idea of romance in the school, he accepted the fact that it was part of teenhood, and he knew deep down that he would've been upset if he had been prevented from loving Elena in his younger years. Nero knew Laura would never recover. He could see it now, her small frame shaking from her quiet sobs. He just hoped that Shelby and Wing would be beyond supportive of Laura. Nero cared for Laura a lot, and to see her so broken... it was heart wrenching.

He looked to Shelby standing close to Laura. Nero, like most others who knew Shelby, knew she was one of the most positive people in any room. She could take any situation and make it fun, including an extremely difficult situation on a mission. But what he saw now, was not the Shelby Trinity he knew and trusted. She was a broken shell of the girl she usually was. There was no trace of any happiness on her face, just a deep depression. Nero knew that moving on was going to be an incredibly difficult task for Shelby. His only comfort was knowing that she would have Shelby and Wing to mourn with.

Finally, Nero looked at Wing. Nero knew Wing was similar to Raven in many ways; they both didn't display emotion. But, alike Raven, Wing too showed emotion at this particular event. He looked absolutely distraught. Wing was an only child, and he looked upon Otto as a brother. Nero knew this. Nero also knew that Wing was right there when Otto died; That's something one can never truly recover from, seeing the life drain from the eyes of a friend. When Wing carried Otto's lifeless body back to the Shroud, Nero knew that Wing would never, ever be the boy he used to be.

Nero looked around at everyone one last time. In a way, he realized how special human relationships were. While Otto's death was one of the worst things to ever happen to Nero, he learned an important lesson that day: Never take those you care about for granted.

 **A/N: So there ya go! That was pretty depressing to write, but I've actually been writing sad stuff for the most part lately, and there aren't too many sad H.I.V.E fanfics, so y'know. I'm guessing this will be a oneshot, but it might be cool if I did the same idea for different characters, showing how they all felt for one another. Afterall, the relationships of the characters is one of the best parts of H.I.V.E! But yeah, that's all. I hope to write more H.I.V.E fanfiction, but no big promises!**


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